26 troops killed in Lankan fighting

COLOMBO—At least 26 troops were killed and over 125 wounded in new fighting as Tamil rebels resisted an army advance into guerrilla-held territory in northern Sri Lanka. Hundreds of Sri Lankan troops were involved in the offensive along the de facto border between government- and rebel-held areas in the Jaffna peninsula, the sources said.
The operation, launched from three locations along the front lines, sparked clashes with the rebels, the sources said, adding troops had moved almost a kilometer (half-mile) into territory previously held by the Tigers.
"There was heavy resistance initially," a military source said Saturday. "Casualties are mainly due to long-range weapons fired by the Tamil Tigers. The operation was launched to secure the army's forward defence lines."
"At least one officer and 25 soldiers were killed and about 125 were wounded, and most of them were listed as walking wounded," said another military source, declining to be named. There was no immediate word from the Tigers about the latest clashes or about any possible casualties on their side. However, the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website said there had been no casualties among the rebels.
A new wave of fighting erupted in Jaffna last month when the Tamil Tigers staged a major artillery and mortar bomb attack against military positions within the peninsula, but most of the battles died down after two weeks.
Security forces were staging the latest action to strengthen their defences and push back Tiger artillery guns that hit the main airbase in Jaffna, the sources said.
The fighting has also effectively cut off the only road access to the peninsula where about 8,000 civilians, including a large number of foreign nationals of Sri Lankan origin, are believed to be trapped.
The International Red Cross last month operated a ferry to evacuate 161 people, while the Sri Lankan navy Saturday sent a troop carrier to ferry some 795 civilians out of the peninsula.
"The navy undertook this humanitarian mission considering the plight of civilians in the Jaffna peninsula who are faced with irregular transport facilities," the defence ministry said in a statement.
Nordic truce monitors ruled that the August 11 fighting in Jaffna was initiated by the Tigers, although the guerrillas said they were taking defensive action to prevent a military onslaught against them.
Sri Lanka has suffered an upsurge in bloodshed since December that has left more than 1,500 people dead by official count and a 2002 ceasefire in shreds.
The island's three-decade-old separatist ethnic conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives.—Agencies